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AFRICAN UNION
UNION AFRICAINE
UNIÃO AFRICANA
Statement
AUC Chairperson,
HE Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma
to
the 4th Pan-Africa Cultural
Congress (PACC4) Gala Dinner
25 May 2015
Sandton, South Africa
“Unity in Cultural Diversity for Africa’s Development.”
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Programme Director,
Honourable Minister of Arts and Culture of the Republic of South Africa,
Mr. NathiMthethwa,
AUC Commissioner of Social Affairs, Dr. Mustapha Kaloko,
Representatives of the African Cultural and Arts Community
Esteemed guests, here gathered
Fellow Africans
Ladies and Gentlemen
I am honoured to address this Gala dinner on the occasion of the 4th Pan
African Cultural Congress, which is hosted under the theme Unity in Cultural
Diversity for Africa’s Development.
Tonight, we commemorate and celebrate the founding, 52 years ago, of the
Organisation of African Unity, now the African Union. 32 Independent African
states gathered to sign the Organisation’s founding Charter in Addis Ababa
and accelerated actions to secure and safeguard the hard won independence
and integrity of African States with a view of ridding our continent of all forms
of racism, colonialism and discrimination. From the onset Africa’s leaders
identified the need to coordinate and harmonize policies in several fields,
including in education and cultural cooperation.
A great deal has been accomplished by Africa since then, often in the face of
considerable challenges.
The arts have immensely contributed to these accomplishments, who can
forget the seminal speech of Mama Africa, Miriam Makeba when she
addressed the United Nations 52 years ago,
I quote:
“I ask you and all the leaders of the world, would you act differently,
would you keep silent and do nothing if you were in our place? Would
you not resist if you were allowed no rights in your own country because
the color of your skin is different from that of the rulers, and if you were
punished for even asking for equality? I appeal to you, and to all the
countries of the world, to do everything you can to stop the coming
tragedy. I appeal to you to save the lives of our leaders, to empty the
prisons of all those who should never have been there.”
Indeed your capacities and talents as artists and cultural workers to create,
helps give expression to our experiences and to our aspirations, in good and
bad times.
It is our hope that this generation of artists and cultural workers will continue
to inspire towards the realization of the goals and objectives of Agenda 2063.
Through Agenda 2063, the Africa we Want, we aspire to address urgent
priorities in education, skills development, especially in science technology,
engineering and mathematics. Africa must have a skills revolution, since we
intend to modernize agriculture, add value to our natural resources and
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minerals; and develop our infrastructure mainly in the energy, transport, and
ICT sectors.
For these priorities to find expression they will require contributions from the
arts, since the arts embody what our great African writer, Ben Okri meant
when he said:
The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to
overcome, to endure, to transform, to love and be greater than our
suffering.
The arts are very important for our development, but equally important is our
mindset, believing in ourselves and in our capacity to achieve the goals we
set for ourselves. This is where culture and arts play such an important role.
In readjusting our mindsets we must bare in mind the words of Ben Okri in his
book Ways of Being Free where he says:
They tell me that nature is the survival of the fittest. And yet look at how
wondrous gold and yellow fishes prosper amongst silent stones of the
ocean beds, while sharks continuously prowl the waters in their
impossible dreams of oceanic domination and while whales become
extinct…how many butterflies and iguanas thrive, while elephants turn
into endangered species, and while even lions growl in their dwindling
solitude.
There is no such thing as a powerless people. There are only those
who have not seen and have not used their power and will. It would
seem a miraculous feat, but it is possible for the under-valued to help
create a beautiful new era in human history. New vision should come
from those who suffer most and who love life the most.
We therefore greatly appreciate the initiative taken by the cultural sector, as
we were consulting on Agenda 2063, to insist that we help them to convene a
meeting of the cultural and creative sector from across the continent.
The inputs from the African Re-imagined Creative Hub held at the AU
Headquarters in Addis Ababa on 25 May 2014 helped to inform Aspiration 5,
which is about An Africa with a strong cultural identity, common heritage,
shared values and ethics. Amongst many of its objectives the aspiration
seeks to promote:
Pan-African ideals [so that they are] fully embedded in all school
curricula and Pan-African cultural assets (heritage, folklore, languages,
film, music, theatre, literature, festivals, religions and spirituality) will all
be enhanced.
In re-crafting our Pan African ideals we must recall the words of Prime
Minister Patrice Lumumba who in 1960 said:“We all know, and the whole
world knows it, that Algeria is not French, that Angola is not Portuguese, that
Kenya is not English, that Ruanda-Urundi is not Belgian. We know that Africa
is neither French, nor British, nor American, nor Russian, ... that it is African.”
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Through the fulfillment of Aspiration 5 we aim that the African creative arts
and industries be celebrated throughout the continent, as well as, in the
diaspora so as to contribute significantly to self-awareness, well-being, peace
and prosperity, and to world culture and heritage.
It is also our desire that African languages be the basis for administration and
integration with special attention being paid to African shared values such as
family, community, hard work, merit, mutual respect and social cohesion.
I am sure that your gathering this week, will come up with concrete
recommendations of what, in the first Ten Year plan, we need to do to
implement these ideas.
Since this is the Year of Women, the arts and cultural sector should also pay
attention to the issues of women’s empowerment and building a non-sexist
continent. The issues here range from how do we break the cycle of genderbased violence to ensuring effective economic participation of women.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The idea of unity in diversity is so critical to the tasks and mission that we set
for ourselves in Agenda 2063. Africa is a diverse continent, in religion,
cultures, languages, heritage and arts.
This diversity has co-existed and combined in a melting pot over the
centuries. It forms the bedrock of our common destiny, expressed through
Pan Africanism.
It is a unity in diversity that we must nurture. We must manage this diversity in
an inclusive manner, so that no one feels left out.
It is no coincidence that the oldest political movement on the continent, the
African National Congress, is named the AFRICAN and not just South African.
The founding fathers of the ANC had a Pan African outlook because they
understood that the destinies of all Africans are intertwined and that the
liberation and development of South Africa required the contributions of Africa
and vice-versa.
It is also no coincidence that the Anthem for the liberation movement and
South Africa is NkosiSikelelaiAfrica, God Bless Africa!!! The song is not only
sung and celebrated in South Africa it is also the national anthem for a
number of African countries including Zambia and Tanzania.
It is also no coincidence that the Freedom Charter says, “South Africa belongs
to all who live in it, black and white” and it envisages that “the doors of
learning and culture shall be opened”.
Programme Director,
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Allow me to conclude, with more wise words from Ben Okri:
When you can imagine, you begin to create, and when you begin to
create you realize that you can create a world that you prefer to live in,
rather than a world that you are suffering in.
We must therefore imagine and create the Africa we want.
I wish the 4th Pan African Cultural Congress all success and look forward to
the outcomes of your deliberations. I would also like to wish all of you a happy
Africa Day.
One People!!! One Destiny!!!
Asante Sane!!!